Born on the island of Jamaica, photographer Al J Thompson moved to Spring Valley—an immigrant community in the suburbs of New York—in 1996. In the years since, he has watched his “second hometown” fall prey to gentrification. “Remnants of an Exodus,” Thompson’s most recent series and soon-to-be photobook (Gnomic Book, 2021), bears witness to the changes he has experienced and those who have been negatively impacted. 

A self-proclaimed devotee to the science of Psychology and Visual Arts, Thompson’s photographs take a delicate and nuanced approach to storytelling through the lens of his own personal experience, and he hopes that they may carve a path toward empathy.

“Remnants of an Exodus” can be pre-ordered here.

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